


Safe Place

by Jettara1



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: AU of Mistakes by AHeartForStories, Fire, Hospitalization, M/M, Property Damage, Rape Survivor, Violence, abuse survivor, abuse victim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 08:41:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jettara1/pseuds/Jettara1
Summary: This is an AU of Mistakes by AHeartForStoriesHiccup finds help from a clerk in a small store.  Unfortunately, helping Hiccup escape Viggo and Ryker Grimborn comes at a cost.
Relationships: Viggo Grimborn/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Comments: 11
Kudos: 25





	Safe Place

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jayalaw](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayalaw/gifts).



Safe Place

AU of Mistakes by AHeartForStories  
Commissioned by Jayalaw

Hiccup stares at the smartphone in his hands. His knees suddenly feel weak as he looks through the images of Astrid and him. He missed more than he ever thought he could miss someone. Without even realizing it there are tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Hey there, are you okay?” Eret asks. He rounds the counter and places a hand on Hiccup’s narrow shoulder.

The younger man jumps, afraid of what a simple touch may mean. From Viggo is usually meant sex or pain, from Ryker it meant agony. But Eret doesn’t display either of those things, only genuine concern. Hiccup sniffles a little, tries to nod, but a small broken sob escapes him instead.

“I’m sorry…I just…”

Eret nods in understanding. “Come on. There’s a backroom where you can sit down and make the call,” he suggests. 

He led Hiccup from the main section of the store and into a storage room. Then into what appeared to be a small office. It’s warmer in there than the rest of the building and there are two security monitors on the wall, one facing inside the front shop from two different angles while the other is directed toward the back entrance and loading section.

“If you don’t want to call the police, then perhaps you should call your Dad and let him know where you are,” Eret advised. He pulled out an envelope with the store’s address on it. “Give him this. I’m sure he’ll come with the police.”

Hiccup’s fingers felt numb as he took it. Freedom was so close now. All he needed was his father to reach him before Viggo and Ryker did. Yet even with this new hope, dread filled him.

“Do you want something to eat, a chocolate bar, soda?” Eret asked, already fetching snacks from the storeroom.

“I don’t have any money,” Hiccup told him. He swallowed the lump in his throat and began dialing his Dad’s cell phone number.

“On the house,” Eret assured. He placed a few snacks on the desk as the bell rang to alert him someone was in the store. “Stay here, I’ll be back in a moment.” He closed the office door as he left.

Hiccup gave a small nod as he pressed to phone to his ear. It seemed to ring and ring with no sign of anyone answering. He glanced up at the monitors as he waited. His blood suddenly ran cold. There, on the monitor facing inside the store front, was Ryker in a heated exchange with Eret. Panic began to fill Hiccup as he watched. Ryker had to missing person’s poster and looked as if he might attack Eret at any moment, but Eret didn’t look as if he were about to back down.

“Hello?” a familiar voice finally answered the phone.

Hiccup didn’t say anything for a moment. 

“Hello? Is someone there?” the voice asked again, the tone a deep rumble of annoyance.

“Dad?” Hiccup whispered, relief warring with fear.

There was a gasp on the other side and what sounded like a relieved sob. “Hiccup? Son, where are you? Are you alright?”

Hiccup stared at the monitor. Ryker had stopped threatening Eret and was wandering around the small shop and knocking over bottles of alcohol. 

“I’m in trouble, Dad. There are people after me. They’re going to hurt my friend,” he said, surprised that he was able to keep his voice from cracking. “I’m going to send you the address of where I am. Bring help.”

“Hiccup, I don’t understand. Who’s after you? What’s going on?”

“Viggo Grimborn,” he answered. 

He glanced back at the monitor. It was as if his heart was suddenly in a vice. Ryker had discovered the security cameras and was staring at one of them, as if staring directly at Hiccup. He knew where Hiccup was. 

“I love you, Dad.” 

He hung up before his father could answer then took a picture of the address on the envelope and sent it to him. Even if Stoick didn’t make it to him in time he now had a location to search for him. If anything, he now had a better chance of recovering his body if Viggo and Ryker did kill him. That possibility was becoming all the more real as he watched Ryker set the alcohol on fire. A moment later the fire alarm went off and Hiccup watched as Eret abandoned the store and dashed into the storeroom. A crashing sound made Hiccup jump and a moment later Eret rushed into the office. 

“I barricaded the door to the store,” he panted in explanation. “That guy’s insane! I’m guessing he’s one of the guys who kidnapped you?” He didn’t wait for Hiccup’s answer. 

“He won’t be able to get back here, that’s a fireproof door and the locks are hard to break. But we need to get out. He set the place on fire and it’s only a matter of time before it eats through the walls. Fireproof doors…walls, not so much.”

There are the sound of pounding coming from the door between the store and storage room, as if Ryker were trying to kick the door in. He was a big man; it was only a matter of time he got through or found another way to Hiccup. Hiccup would have agreed with Eret and gone out the back, but a quick look at the other monitor revealed that Viggo was already waiting for them at the back entrance. Hiccup knew from experience that getting past him would not be easy and it wouldn’t be long before Ryker joined him.

Eret followed his gaze to the second monitor. “I’m guessing that’s the other guy?”

Hiccup nodded then jumped as the smartphone in his hand began ringing. Not thinking twice, he answered it.

“Hello?”

His father’s voice was on the other side. “Hiccup, stay where you are. I have police on the way.”

Hiccup’s gaze moved from one monitor to the other. “The building’s on fire and they’re waiting for us outside. I don’t know what to do.”

Eret took the smartphone from him. “Sir, this is Eret Erikson. I’m with your son. These people after him just set my store on fire and are trying to smoke us out. We’re in the office right now but we only have minutes before the fire spreads to the storeroom or the big guy manages to make it through. We have no other place to go or escape to. No sir, we have no weapons.” 

He paused, waiting patiently as Stoick spoke to him. Hiccup kept his eyes on the monitors. Viggo was growing impatient and was pacing around with what appeared to be a baton in his hand. Hiccup knew that it was electrified and was meant to subdue him the moment he ran out the back. Ryker on the other hand, was stoking the fire by throwing liquor bottles directly at the door and wall the separated the store and storage room. Hiccup gestured to it, drawing Eret’s attention from the phone.

“Oh, fuck,” the older man breathed. “Sir, I’m going to pass you back to Hiccup.” 

He handed the smartphone back to Hiccup then grabbed the office phone and dialed 911.

Hiccup couldn’t speak. They were about to be burned alive and he wasn’t sure what to say to his father. He hadn’t expected to call back. He hadn’t expected his father would have to listen to his screams of agony as he died. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

“Bastard cut the phone line,” Eret yelled, slamming the phone in its cradle. 

He looked to Hiccup and the smartphone. Hiccup went to hand it to him, but he shook his head. In the distance, the faint sound of klaxons could be heard. The fire department were already on their way. It brought a small relief until a pounding at the back door began. Hiccup glanced toward that monitor and was surprised to see that Ryker had gone around to join his brother and was now trying to get to him through that entrance – which, thankfully, was locked as well. But it wouldn’t be for long. Viggo was already working on the lock. Unlike Ryker, Viggo knew how to bypass such things and had only been waiting to see if he would have to. The back alley gave him perfect cover for that.

That door opened within feet of the office. If they made it in there was no way out. Guilt filled Hiccup. He should never have tried to escape. He should never have come to this store and involved Eret.

“We need to get out of here,” he breathed.

“The only way out is through the front,” Eret agreed. His lips pressed together in a thin line. “Come with me.”

They hurried into the storage room and much to Hiccup’s surprise, Eret tore apart one of the shelves and took the metal leg. Then he wedged it between to handle of the metal door and the frame, effectively creating a second lock that Viggo would not be able to pick and would take Ryker’s full strength to bend and pull open. Next, Eret grabbed two plastic packages off the shelf and went into the washroom with them. It wasn’t until the water was running that Hiccup figured out what he was planning. The packages had held two small decorative blankets that he soaked down. One he wrapped around Hiccup, the second, around himself after removing a turned over shelf in front of the door that led to the store. Pulled Hiccup behind him and the door before wrapping one hand in his wet blanket and yanking the door open. The fire all but exploded inward, the door the only thing protecting them from being seared in the intense heat. Eret waited for the flames to settle before grasping Hiccup’s hand and pulling him along within into the burning store.

Hiccup kept the edge of the blanket over his face in order to keep from inhaling the burning smoke. In his hand he still clung to the smartphone with his father on the other side while Eret held his wrist. It was impossible to see. He had to rely of Eret to get him through.

With the alcohol as an accelerant, the fire had taken the store quickly. Ryker had overturned shelves and broken every bottle in the shop. Flames licked up the wall and caused pieces of the ceiling to fall. The smoke was so thick that it was near impossible to see and Hiccup had trouble keeping his footing. He tripped over debris, his prosthetic catching something, and fell to his knees, dropping the smartphone and almost dragging Eret down with him. The larger man didn’t pause to check if he was okay, he grabbed Hiccup and hauled him back to his feet. The phone was forgotten, and the last thing Hiccup heard was his father yelling his name before both he and Eret burst out the front door and into fresh air, just as the fire department began turning on their hoses.

Hands grabbed at Hiccup and he yelled in panic, thrashing away from them, thinking it was either Viggo or Ryker. Instead, they were firemen and paramedics trying to get him and Eret further from the building. Eret tried to calm him but Hiccup couldn’t stop looking around, fearing the Grimborn brothers would find him. He could have sworn he caught them from the corner of his eye, but there were too many people for either one to try making a grab for him. Once that registered in his mind, he slowly allowed himself to relax enough to sit on the ground next to the firetruck as the paramedics looked him over. He refused to leave Eret, the only true protection he felt he now had, on the shopkeeper refused to leave him as well. Eret stayed with him as they watched the shop burned and stayed with him all the way to the hospital two towns over.

Stoick had gotten in contact with the local authorities and had armed guards put in place to watch over Hiccup while he made his way to the hospital. It would be many hours and Hiccup isn’t fool enough to think he is free yet. Viggo could easily blend in as one of the doctors, or Ryker could pose as a guard. It wouldn’t take much for them to slip in. Worse, the security tapes that could have given the police photo evidence of who his kidnappers were had been destroyed in the fire, and neither man has an internet presence. All he had was Eret, who sat in the chair next to his bed, his hands and arms bandaged from burns sustained getting Hiccup out of the store. Hiccup legs had been burned as well when he tripped but the injuries had not been noticeable until after he reached the hospital. Adrenaline had been what got both of them out without something more serious.

Eret continued to stay with him at the hospital, refusing to leave Hiccup’s side even as he was questioned about his abductors to which Hiccup was eternally grateful. He wasn’t sure who he could trust or if Viggo had any sway on the police in Port, and Eret’s presence was a soothing one that helped allow him to open up about what had happened, how it all began, and give detailed descriptions of the Grimborn brothers. The interview lasted hours with only brief breaks as doctors came to check on him and treat his or Eret’s injuries. They assured him repeatedly that he was safe, and no one could harm him now, but Hiccup refused to believe that. After months of being held captive and tortured, he knew that he would never be safe from them, not until they were captured or killed. He preferred them dead and that thought twisted his stomach into a knot. He had never wanted anyone dead before in his life, not even Dagur when he used to torment him. This was a level of hate he never felt before and it terrified him.

When he and Eret were finally left alone, Hiccup felt awkward and not quite sure of himself. He idly twisted the sheet in his hands. He wanted to sleep but was too afraid to. He also wanted a hug but was too afraid to ask Eret for one. Even though they had survived the fire together they still didn’t really know each other.

“I’m sorry about your shop,” he began tentatively.

Eret glanced at him from where he was seated close to the bed. His father had already come to check on him and promised to be back soon with some coffee and snacks. The young man shrugged his wide shoulders. “We have insurance. They’ll help us rebuild.”

“Even against arson?” Hiccup asked, unsure how much insurance agencies covered but knowing arson can be tricky.

The older man gave another shrug. “What matters is you’re safe now and your father is on the way. And this is a small island, the police will catch those bastards quick enough.” 

He gave a small smile. “You should try to sleep. I’ll stay up and keep on eye on everything. I promise, no one is going to get anywhere near you. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”

It was a nice promise, but Hiccup knew it was one that Eret couldn’t keep. Sooner or later, Viggo would find him, and if he didn’t, he would just find someone else to hurt and abuse. Nonetheless, exhaustion pulled at Hiccup until finally, he fell asleep.

Nightmares plagued him, horrid dreams of Ryker posing as a police officer and coming into his room unchecked only to kill the guards and Eret and making sure Hiccup knew their deaths were all his fault before stabbing him repeatedly, ensuring administer that maximum amount of pain before letting him bleed to death. He dreamt of Viggo, dressed as a doctor, strolling in with the same amount of ease and drugging him so that he couldn’t move and was forced to watch those around him die in the most gruesome ways while again being reminded that all of it could have been prevented had he only done as he was told and been a “good boy” before being smothered with a pillow or choked to death or any number of scenarios that continued to play over and over in his mind. Each one was worse than the last, more grotesque, more real. And then he dreamt that he and Eret were still strapped in the burning store, unable to escape, the fire so hot, the smoke choking out all the air until they were both burning alive as the building began to fall around them.

He awoke to large hands grasping his arms and someone calling his name. He gave a cry and began thrashing about, trying to escape. Ryker had found him. He was going to kill him. He was…

“Hiccup, son!” Stoick cried out, catching him before he fell off the bed.

Hiccup froze, fear and hope warring with one another as he looked at the man holding him. It wasn’t Ryker. It wasn’t Viggo. It was Stoick Haddock, his father. The moment he met his father’s wide and frightened gaze, he threw himself at the man and completely broke down. For months he had feared he would never see his father again and now here he was, holding him like he used to as a child. Next to Stoick was his mother, Valka. She gave a happy little sob and came to hug Hiccup from the other side.

“It’s alright, son. We’re here,” she assured. Her long fingers carded gently through his hair in a reassuring manner.

“I’m dreaming,” Hiccup reasoned, but he didn’t pull away. If this was a dream, then it was a happy one compared to the ones a few minutes before.

Stoick shook his head then pressed his lips to Hiccup’s forehead. “No, son. We’re here. They caught the men that did this to you…one of them, the other was killed when he tried to attack the police. Neither of them will ever hurt you or anyone else again.”

Hiccup looked up in surprise. “Which one? Which one did they kill?”

Stoick searched his gaze for a moment before answering. “Ryker Grimborn.”

Hiccup sniffled and hugged his father again. “Good,” he said simply.

Ryker was dead and Viggo was likely to serve a long time in jail. Hiccup would make sure of it, but for now he just wanted to bask in the warmth of his parents and pray it was finally all over.  
Fini


End file.
